


I Will Dance With Cinderella

by justanoutlaw



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Dancing, Episode: s07e13 Knightfall, Fluff, Gen, father & daughter bonding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-06
Updated: 2018-04-06
Packaged: 2019-04-19 07:20:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 595
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14232174
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/justanoutlaw/pseuds/justanoutlaw
Summary: Killian teaches Alice how to dance.





	I Will Dance With Cinderella

**Author's Note:**

> Based on the adorable gif from below. (credit to lumadreamland on Tumblr =D)

__

_So I will dance with Cinderella_   
_While she is here in my arms_   
_'Cause I know something the prince never knew_   
_Oh I will dance with Cinderella_   
_I don't want to miss even one song_   
_'Cause all too soon the clock will strike midnight_   
_And she'll be gone-Steven Curtis Chapman_   
  


Alice loves books. She reads more than Hook can go and get more, but she doesn’t seem to mind. She’ll re-read her favorites and when that gets boring, she asks him to tell her tales of his adventures. He keeps them PG, of course. He tells ones of finding lost treasure or crashing balls to get free…sandwiches. She hangs on his every word and he can see the wanderlust in her eye. She’s got a pirate spirit, trapped in a cage.

 

One day, he tells her a story of how he danced with the prettiest princess at the ball. He knows that Alice prefers princesses to princes in stories. Some would probably say she was too young for it to mean anything, but he’s known deep in his soul since she was young. And he’s okay with that. His Starfish can love whoever she does. She has such a big heart and it’d be selfish of him to want it to just contain him. One day, he knows that she’ll escape the tower and find a pretty princess of her own.

 

“The balls sound amazing, Papa,” she says, smiling wide.

“Aye, Starfish, they are. They aren’t quite the place for a pirate, but the best of them can fit in.” He winks and she giggles that precious giggle that heals his soul. “One day, when you get out of this tower, we’ll crash one together.”

“Oh, I’ll never go to a ball.”

“Of course you will. I’m sure they’ll have marmalade sandwiches and tea.”

“It’s not that I don’t think I’d like the food, Papa. It’s just…I can’t dance.”

 

Killian frowns and it dawns on him that he’s taught her a lot of things. How to read, how to paint. He’s done all he can to teach her how to sail a ship from the small wooden one he crafted for her. Yet, he never taught her how to dance. Sure, they’ve done silly ones when she was smaller and she has a music box that she’ll open to make her own moves. She’s danced on his feet, simply swaying back and forth to the tune.

 

Yet, he’s never taught her how to dance properly. She never showed any interest…until that day.

 

“We can fix that,” he says.

 

Killian walks to the music box he bought at a market in town. It’s crafted of beautiful wood and plays a tune that has long helped lift Alice’s spirits. He lifts up the lid and cranks the back, causing the sweet melody to play.

 

Extending his hand, he smiles once more. “May I have this dance, milady?”

 

Alice grins like she never has before and jumps to her feet, grabbing onto it. Slowly, he teaches her both how to follow a lead and lead herself. He resets the music box a couple of times so they can continue and the smile never leaves her face. He swings her in so she collapses against his chest when he can tell she’s getting sleepy and looks down at her with the same loving glance he always does.

 

“When we go to a ball, Papa,” she says with a yawn. “I want my first dance to be with you.”

“Of course, Starfish,” he promises, kissing her temple.


End file.
